Numerical simulation and experimental study on the effect of symmetric and asymmetric bionic flow channels on PEMFC performance under gravity

Liu, Shihua; Chen, Tao; Xie, Yi; Zhang, Jiwei; Wu, Chaoqun

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.06.046

Cited by 42 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Liu et al investigated the difference of these two using both a numerical simulation and an experimental study, concluding that an asymmetric bionic flow channel works better when placed perpendicularly with a relatively flat pressure variation. 459 Another powerful inspiration from nature for flow field design is mammal lungs. 451,455,458 Recently, Coppens et al 451,455,458 developed a model based on the fractal geometry of a lung, with the primary role of distributing reactants homogeneously.…”

Section: Flow Fieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioinspired and Bioderived Aqueous Electrocatalysis

et al. 2022

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The development of efficient and sustainable electrochemical systems able to provide clean-energy fuels and chemicals is one of the main current challenges of materials science and engineering. Over the last decades, significant advances have been made in the development of robust electrocatalysts for different reactions, with fundamental insights from both computational and experimental work. Some of the most promising systems in the literature are based on expensive and scarce platinum-group metals; however, natural enzymes show the highest per-site catalytic activities, while their active sites are based exclusively on earth-abundant metals. Additionally, natural biomass provides a valuable feedstock for producing advanced carbonaceous materials with porous hierarchical structures. Utilizing resources and design inspiration from nature can help create more sustainable and cost-effective strategies for manufacturing cost-effective, sustainable, and robust electrochemical materials and devices. This review spans from materials to device engineering; we initially discuss the design of carbon-based materials with bioinspired features (such as enzyme active sites), the utilization of biomass resources to construct tailored carbon materials, and their activity in aqueous electrocatalysis for water splitting, oxygen reduction, and CO 2 reduction. We then delve in the applicability of bioinspired features in electrochemical devices, such as the engineering of bioinspired mass transport and electrode interfaces. Finally, we address remaining challenges, such as the stability of bioinspired active sites or the activity of metal-free carbon materials, and discuss new potential research directions that can open the gates to the implementation of bioinspired sustainable materials in electrochemical devices.

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Section: Flow Fieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioinspired and Bioderived Aqueous Electrocatalysis

et al. 2022

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“…It has been proved that the orientation gives the best performance in comparison with others. 56 The biomimetic flow field is designed with multiple branches with an angle of bifurcation, which is the angle between the straight channels and the sub-channels, of 37 . The branching angle is chosen for being the most leaf vein F I G U R E 1 A leaf-like biomimetic flow field design with a channel configuration mimicking the branching of veins in leaves resembled according to the survey performed by Damian-Ascencio et al 34 In the proposed flow field design, there is one main branch in the middle of the flow field and straight branches along the flow field edge.…”

Section: Computational Domain and Boundary Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Air‐liquid water transport phenomena in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell cathode with a leaf‐like flow field design

Dang

Zhou

2021

Int J Energy Res

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Liquid water management is one of the key research topics for the development and commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) as it greatly affects their performance and durability. Natureinspired designs show their prominent characteristics such as low pressure drops and effective fluid distribution. Those designs with branched configurations similar to leaves allow more efficient water management; therefore, provide better fuel cell performance than the conventional ones. The air-liquid water transport phenomena are studied for the first time for a leaf-like biomimetic flow field design with a channel configuration mimicking the branching of veins in leaves. The study is conducted using a 3D two-phase air-liquid flows transient numerical simulation. The simulation utilizes the volume of fluid (VOF) method to track the gas-liquid interface with the validated dynamic contact angle (DCA) model is implemented for better accuracy. The fundamental understanding of the liquid water transportation behaviors inside this type of biomimetic flow field is made. Observations such as the effect of the branching on the liquid water drainage could be used for the improvement of flow field designs. For the given boundary conditions, the liquid amount in the flow field becomes stable at 1.5 Â 10 À4 kg after the start-up time, while the pressure drop fluctuates about 3.25 kPa. Novelty StatementA leaf-like biomimetic flow field is designed with a channel configuration mimicking the branching of veins in leaves. A 3D CFD multiphase numerical simulation utilizing the validated volume of fluid and dynamic contact angle method is employed for investigating the air-liquid water transport process. Pressure, water, and velocity distribution, and the effect of the branching on the liquid water drainage, which could be used for the improvement of flow field designs, are observed. K E Y W O R D S biomimetic flow field, flow field design, fuel cell, PEMFC, volume of fluid method

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“…Thus the usable power density for the ginkgo flow field was the highest among all designs tested. Liu et al [150] carried out an investigation using both numerical simulations and experimental measurements on bionic flow fields, where symmetric and asymmetric bionic flow channels were analysed under gravity (channel orientations). VOF model was used for the multiphase simulation of water distributions, whereas a 25 cm 2 cell was used for the experimental testing.…”

Section: Appendix Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomimetic flow fields for proton exchange membrane fuel cells: A review of design trends

Iranzo

Arredondo²,

Kannan

et al. 2020

Energy

108

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Bipolar Plate design is one of the most active research fields in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) development. Bipolar Plates are key components for ensuring an appropriate water management within the cell, preventing flooding and enhancing the cell operation at high current densities. This work presents a literature review covering bipolar plate designs based on nature or biological structures such as fractals, leaves or lungs. Biological inspiration comes from the fact that fluid distribution systems found in plants and animals such as leaves, blood vessels, or lungs perform their functions (mostly the same functions that are required for bipolar plates) with a remarkable efficiency, after millions of years of natural evolution. Such biomimetic designs have been explored to date with success, but it is generally acknowledged that biomimetic designs have not yet achieved their full potential. Many biomimetic designs have been derived using computer simulation tools, in particular Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) so that the use of CFD is included in the review. A detailed review including performance benchmarking, time line evolution, challenges and proposals, as well as manufacturing issues is discussed.

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Numerical simulation and experimental study on the effect of symmetric and asymmetric bionic flow channels on PEMFC performance under gravity

Cited by 42 publications

References 36 publications

Bioinspired and Bioderived Aqueous Electrocatalysis

Bioinspired and Bioderived Aqueous Electrocatalysis

Air‐liquid water transport phenomena in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell cathode with a leaf‐like flow field design

Biomimetic flow fields for proton exchange membrane fuel cells: A review of design trends

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